The ongoing adventures of a father who is finally finding the answers by dedicating himself to his family.

Friday, June 19, 2015

Doors Opening

The
kid's involvement with various video projects has opened all sorts of
doors that could lead to potential projects in the future, and some
of which are happening in the here and now. It seemed like there was
a flurry of video activity this winter and several movies got made.
In succession the kids made a documentary, a music video, and then
entered into the 48 Hour Film Slam, which they had not wanted to
enter in the first place. Either way, they won some awards and plenty
of recognition in the process.

Their
documentary was entered in the CSPAN contest and didn't win anything
even though I thought it was better than some of the entries that
did, but what do I know? It did, however win a special recognition
award at the Vermont Freedom and Unity Awards. Then their music
video, which for the record kicked some serious butt, won the music
video contest in her age bracket, and her 48 Hour Film entry won the
grand prize at the White River Independent Film Festival, which
floored me because that really took me by surprise. It was a pretty
exciting stretch for the kids and parents alike.

This
is where things got interesting. One of the organizers of the Film
Festival, ST, took a liking to A and she introduced her to a
professor at Dartmouth who works with incarcerated women, helping
them express themselves through written words. They have a regular
meeting in conjunction with Dartmouth students where they tell their
stories or read poetry. This professor, PH, asked A to help her film
one of her classes, and hinted at future opportunities for A to be
involved. I'm not sure what will come of it, maybe nothing, but it's
been an interesting experience for A to see firsthand what some
people go through in life and to take part in the process of
documentary filmmaking.

It
was hard work and a little stressful for her because it was a fair
amount of responsibility and she had to take charge of the situation
- nobody else knew how to operate the camera besides her brother, and
he was too young to be allowed into the detention center. Despite the
challenges, she did a stand up job, impressing everyone involved,
even me, and I wasn't there. I love when that happens.

Until
the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to HHH Honey for the pic.